A Prolegomenon to Future Research on Intellectual Property and the Old Arts

As an area that is not clearly defined nor protected in the intellectual property (IP) realm, the ‘old arts’ (folklore, traditional music, etc) and tradition provide scholars with a wide array of research opportunities. While defining their appropriate protection can be difficult, many different strategies exist achieving protection for old culture, assuring reasonable levels of public access, and meaningful representation for traditional communities. To better serve these ends, this chapter reviews some history and theory relating to the topic, and highlights new initiatives and approaches.